


Thandur (Orc)

by TheTravelerWrites



Series: Monster Lovers: Shelter Forest [6]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Abduction, Attempted Assault, Babies, Birth, Brief Self Violence, Brief Violence, Children, Exophilia, F/M, Forced Marriage, Human/Monster Romance, Human/Orc - Freeform, Infants, Kids, MONSTER FUCKER, Menstruation mention, Monster Lover, Oral Sex, Orc, POV Second Person, Pregnancy, Reader Insert, Reader-Insert, Reader/Monster - Freeform, Reader/Orc - Freeform, Rescue, Sex, Sexual Content, Terato, Teratophilia, bride kidnapping, orc boyfriend, period mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-08
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-10-06 12:07:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17344958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheTravelerWrites/pseuds/TheTravelerWrites
Summary: A young woman is taken against her will to be a bride for an orc she's never met, and another orc comes to her aid.





	1. Chapter 1

“Just the nails, then, Thandur?” You asked the large orc standing at the counter. He nodded and smiled.

“Yeah, thanks,” Thandur said. “We always run out quick. Although, if you could throw in that hatchet, that’d be great.”

“Thandur, that’s not a hatchet,” You said, laughing. “It’s a woodcutting axe.”

He snorted playfully and held up his massive hands. “Not for me, it isn’t. I’ll still take it.”

Thandur was a blacksmith, like your father was, but he lived in an orc stronghold six miles north. He came down at least twice a week with orders from the stronghold members who didn’t want to go into the human town themselves. Your village was one of four that bordered his stronghold, but he did most of his shopping in yours, as it had the largest market.

Your papa made all the big things in the shop, like swords and armor and wrought iron castings and the like, and you made the small things, like nails, sewing needles, buttons, fish hooks, chain mail rings, and other such tiny daily necessities. You even did heavy armor repair and made jewelry, when the occasion called for it. The two of you worked well together, and he trusted you to run the shop for him while he did the heavy work. That was how you’d met Thandur nearly a year ago, and you’d come to consider him a friend.

The small things you made were a valuable resource to the orcs, since with their large fingers, it was difficult for them to produce such tiny things themselves. You’d even attempted to teach Thandur how to turn nails, but he always fumbled them and was unable to pick them up from the floor when he dropped them. It was almost adorable.

If you were honest with yourself, you had a bit of a crush on Thandur. He was shorter than most orcs you’d met, but only slightly, still just as intimidating. He was easily three times your size in muscle alone, and you weren’t exactly considered small by human standards; you were actually a bit chubby and had some muscle in your arms from smithing. Many had called you too "manly-looking" and told your father it would be hard to marry you off. Your father replied that he had no intentions of "marrying you off," that you were perfect, and anyone who didn't think so could shove it where the sun don't shine.

Unlike most other orcs who wore leather and furs, Thandur usually wore normal clothes like shirts, tunics, tabards, and trousers, though they were stretched a bit tight on his large frame. He bore a clan rune burned into one of his large outer tusks, like all in his clan, and he also wore a special cloak pin that he had made as a gift for all of his immediate family, which you thought was really sweet. His hair was long and light brown, almost bordering on blonde, and twisted into spiraling braids that hung well past his shapely behind, which was another custom of his family. His skin was the ash-green of oak moss, and his eyes, though brown at first glance, had flecks of green, gold, and silver, like stones in the silt of a river.

You lifted the leather bag filled with three thousand nails that you’d hand-turned yourself, each identical in size and length, and added the “hatchet” to his order.

“Eighty-six gold, Thandur,” You told him pleasantly.

Her narrowed his brown eyes at you. “Did you give me a discount? I could have sworn I paid ninety-three last time I was here.”

“Are you complaining?” You asked him sardonically.

“No, ma’am, no complaints from me,” He said, smiling, the skin of his lips pulled tight over his twin tusks. As he counted out the coins, he leaned in close. “Guess what.”

Ooh, gossip. “What?” You asked eagerly.

“I heard someone in the stronghold say there’s going to be a harvesting from this town.”

“You’re kidding!” You exclaimed excitedly. “Do you know who it is?”

He shook his head, his long ears wiggling as he did so. “No. I don’t even know which orc it is, it’s just a rumor going around camp. If I find out more, I’ll tell you about it next time I come down.”

You smiled and handed him his goods. “I can’t wait to hear about it. Safe trip back, all right?”

He nodded and saluted you with a wide smile, picking up his wares as if they weight nothing, and stepped sideways out of the narrow door.

Harvesting was an orc tradition of choosing spouses from outside the stronghold that weren’t orcs. Usually, it was agreed upon beforehand, with correspondences between the parties involved, but it had never happened in your village before.

You wondered if he was hinting that he was planning on harvesting you, and part of you hoped he was, but at the same time, you and this shop were all your father had left. You’d both lost your mother and brother during childbirth just two years ago, and it had affected both of you greatly. As much as you loved the idea of spending a life with Thandur, you couldn’t leave your father. You hoped Thandur would understand.

Early the next morning, just before first light, before most of the town had even woken up, you went out to tidy up the shop, sweeping up iron flakes and failed castings your dad hadn’t cleaned up the day before. As you walked out to cart in some firewood, you bent to pull up some weeds from the flowers planted on either side of the door of your shop. Suddenly, a shadow fell over you.

You looked up and saw an absolutely massive orc standing over you. He was much older than Thandur and had a completely different demeanor. Where Thandur was friendly and open, this one was aggressive and foreboding. His eyes were glassy green and his hair white with streaks of black. His skin was pale green and he had the same clan tattoo on his right tusk, meaning he was part of the same clan as Thandur, but he seemed like a completely different breed of orc.

“Hello, sir,” You said a little shakily, glancing around surreptitiously and realizing no one was out yet and you were quite alone. “Can I help you with something?”

Before you could say anything else, he raise his arm and backhanded you. It pushed the breath from your lungs and knocked you to the ground. He bent down and put a hand over your mouth, his fist enclosing around your entire head, and said in a low undertone, “If you scream, I’ll snap your neck. Understand?”

With confused tears streaming down your face, you nodded. He picked you up and flung you over his shoulder.

“Don’t talk and don’t fight. You’ll just make it worse for yourself,” He said, then left town and headed for the orc stronghold.

Oh gods. You suddenly understood. You _were_ being harvested, but not by Thandur, like you hoped. You’d never met this orc before and didn’t know why he had chosen you, but you knew sometimes orcs took spouses against their will. It was frowned upon, but not illegal, not even in human law.

You wept as he trudged back through the forest road with you dangling upside-down from his shoulder like a downed deer, trying hard not to make much noise in case it angered him. If he was willing to hit you on your first meeting with no provocation, you couldn’t begin to imagine what he would do to you if he was angry.

The trip felt incredibly long, and all you could do was think of your father. You’d never see him again. Often human spouses who lived in orc strongholds were free to visit their families, but you doubted that this orc would afford you such a luxury. You knew your father would fight, but he had no legal recourse, and the orcs might kill him if he kicked up too much trouble.

When you finally got to the stronghold, a large gate met you, and the orc carrying you barked an order for it to be opened. With a great creaking and groaning, the gate gave way, and the orc marched you inside with no ceremony. You had heard from Thandur that a harvesting came with great celebration, but most people who saw you and him together didn’t spare you a glance. Some of the older orcs gave a half-hearted cheer, but most of the rest purposefully ignored you.

Except for one, who’s eyes met yours when the orc carrying you turned a corner. His sweet, brown eyes widened in horror, his friendly face drained of color, and he dropped the pile of firewood he’d been carrying on his bare feet without so much as flinching. He could do nothing but watch helplessly as your new “husband” took you to your new home.

His hut was small but well built from the outside. Inside left a lot to be desired. There was a single bed, a table with a single chair, a fireplace with a hanging pot, a shelf with sparse selections of food but plenty of drink, and a rack with weapons loaded onto it. That was it. There was no indication anywhere that he was preparing to take a bride.

He let you fall to the ground without warning and you fell right on your rear, a startled _oof_ escaping your lips. He grabbed you painfully by the arm and pulled you up, pushing you toward the bed. Your heart stopped. _Now?_ No, not now.

 _Please_ , you begged to any god kind-hearted enough to listen to your plea. _Please don’t let this happen. Please. I can’t… I can’t do this… he’ll hurt me, I know it… please help me…_

“Clean this place up,” His gravelly voice demanded impatiently. “I’m going to get supplies. This place had better be immaculate and lunch ready by the time I return, or you’ll be sorry you were born.”

 _Too late for that_ , you though.

With that, he left, locking the door behind him, leaving you sniveling and dizzied on the cold stone floor.

 _What do I do?_ You asked yourself. _What if he doesn’t like what I cook? What if he does, and he decides to take me to bed? I can’t do it. I can’t._

You brought your hands up to rub your eyes clean, and it was only then when you realized you were still clutching the weeds you’d pulled from your front stoop. You also realized it wasn’t weeds, it was belladonna.

A small glimmer of hope swelled up in you, and you got up to start your tasks with a new determination.

It was difficult; everything in this house was built for people far larger than you. While you worked, shaking out the bedding and sweeping the floors, you made a tincture of the belladonna, trying to figure out what would be a good dosage for an orc his size. After putting the tincture in one of the only spare bottles, you put it in your apron pocket and burned the leftover plant parts in the fire.

You set to work starting a meal with the meager items available to you. There wasn’t much: most of it was dried meat. There were potatoes and half a cabbage, however, so you boiled the meat with some herbs to soften it back up, and then sauteed the meat with the vegetables. Cooking wasn’t your strongest suit, but you did your best.

As midday crept closer, you began to worry that he’d be back soon, so you popped open the bunghole of one of the mead casks and emptied the entire bottle of the belladonna extract. This would kill any human man, but with orcs, you weren’t so sure.

As you wedged the cork back into place and stepped down, the slam of the door opening startled you out of your skin.

Your abductor had returned, carrying a basket of food. He also hauled a new sword over his shoulder, which it settled onto the weapons’ rack.

You put a plate of food on the table in front of the only chair, and filled a large flagon from the poisoned mead barrel.

He sat down at the table and looked at the meal you had cooked, sniffing and grimacing.

“I expect better in the future,” He said, taking the flagon and draining it. “This is hardly a meal.” He held out the flagon to you and shook it in your face. You took it, nearly fumbling it, and refilled it again from the poisoned barrel.

He picked up his fork and began eating.

“Tastes better than it looks, though not by much,” He said.

“Thanks,” You said uncertainly. “So, I guess I’m going to be here for a while.”

“For as long as I want you to be,” he said matter-of-factly. That wasn’t comforting.

You gulped, but pressed on. “It might help if we introduce ourselves.” You told him your name. “What’s your name?”

“Kaffak,” he replied. “But you will call me Husband and nothing else. You understand?”

“Yes, Hu-Husband,” You said, trying to keep the grimace off of your face. There wasn’t a second chair, but even if there was, he insisted you wait until he had eaten his fill before you were allowed to eat. He didn’t leave you much.

You learned he was quite the drinker. Before he’d finished his meal, he’d nearly emptied the mead barrel. His words were starting to slur, and he was swaying at the table. You weren’t sure if he were drunk or if the poison was taking effect.

“Are you tired, Husband?” You asked, trying to keep his voice neutral. His response was a grunt, which you took for a yes, and you gingerly took his arm and led him to the bed, hoping he’d pass out there.

As he was about to hit the mattress, he grabbed your wrist and pulled you under him, grabbing at your breasts and trying to push up your skirt.

“No!” You screamed. “No, don’t! Please, let go!”

“I’m your husband, you will not refuse me!” He bellowed, grabbing you by the throat, still attempting to unclothe you.

“Stop it!” You cried out in a strangled voice, reaching for something to use as a weapon. You hand fell on a heavy hammer lying next to the bed and swung it with all your might, connecting with the side of his head. Kaffak grunted and collapsed, pinning you to the bed. You gasped, breathing hard, feeling both terror and relief.

It took some work, but you managed to wedge yourself out from under him and fell to the floor beside the bed. Oh, gods. He was going to kill you when he woke up, you just knew it. You crouched low, crying and clutching your hair in panic, trying to figure out what to do now.

Suddenly, you heard your name being called out. It was faint, and it didn’t sound like Kaffak. Going to the window, you opened it to find Thandur standing there, panting hard and fidgeting with nervousness.

“Thandur!” You cried. You wanted to reach out for him, but you were scared of Kaffak waking up and catching you.

“Are you alright?” He asked, breathing hard, as if he had been running. “I heard you screaming. What did he do to you?” He reached up to touch your cheek, which stung. There was apparently a bruise there from where Kaffak had struck you that morning. You always did bruise easy.

“He tried to…” You swallowed, unable to voice it. “But I drugged him with belladonna and hit him. He’s unconscious.”

“Good,” Thandur said, holding out his arms. “Come on, let’s go. Quickly, before anyone sees us!”

You jumped from the window and fell into his arms, and he set you down. Next to him was a large rucksack and a bow and quiver of arrows. There was also a number of very large knives and the axe he’d bought from you strung along his belt.

“We need to go before he wakes up,” Thandur said. “Get in the bag.”

“What?” You said. “Seriously?”

“Yes!” He hissed. “The other orcs are serious about tradition. The moment you entered the compound on Karrak’s shoulder, you were married in the eyes of the law. If Kaffak doesn’t want you to leave, everyone here is honor-bound to make you stay.”

“Doesn’t that mean you are, too?” You asked trepidatiously, carefully climbing into the rucksack.

“I guess there are different kinds of honor,” Thandur said grimly. “Now hurry. We need to get as much distance between us and this camp as possible.”

“Papa must be so scared,” You said. “I hope we can get back to town before he panics too much. He’ll be so relieved to see me.”

Thandur looked at her with a pained expression. “No, you don’t understand. You can’t go back to your village.”

“What?” You whispered. “Why? My father--”

“Your father’s shop is the first place they’ll look. I’m sorry, I really am, but you can’t go back there.”

Your face fell and to began to cry again, but silently. Thandur put his hand on your shoulder, but you shook it off. Touch wasn’t comforting right now.

“I’m really sorry,” He said, and you knew he meant it but it didn't help. “But if you want to get out of this place, we have to leave now.”

Reluctantly, you nodded.

“All right, crouch down and put your arms around your knees. And put your head down, too.”

You did as he instructed, and he put furs around your body to disguise the shape. There were other things in the bag, but you tried to ignore them.

“You mustn’t move or make noise until I say. It could be a awhile, but hold on, all right?” He asked softly.

“All right,” You said, muted against the furs. You felt a bit stifled, but it was better than being struck across the face.

He closed up the rucksack and slung it over the shoulder carefully. Being suspended in the bag like this was a strange feeling, but you did your best to stay still and silent.

You felt every step Thandur took, though eventually he stopped and hailed someone.

“Open the gate, Tokat!” He called.

“Hey, Thandur! Going out again?” You heard someone call from a distance.

“Yeah,” Thandur called back. “Got a hunting itch! Might be gone a day or two!”

“You have fun, then!” The voice yelled, and you heard the front gate creak open again. You felt the bounce as Thandur began moving. After a moment or two, you heard the gate clatter shut.

“We’re out of the compound,” Thandur said quietly. “But we have a ways to go yet. Hang on and stay quiet, all right?”

“All right,” you said mutely. You had no choice but to do so.

He walked steadily for almost an hour, and soon you could hear faint voices. One of which was familiar: your father calling your name frantically, asking people if they’d seen you and calling for help to look for you.

You choked on your own breath, preparing to call out to him, when you heard Thandur say, “You must stay quiet. You’ll only endanger his life, too.”

You dissolved into tears again, weeping into your hands. It felt like all you had done today was cry.

“I’m so sorry,” Thandur whispered.

Your heart broke as you listened to your father’s voice get farther and farther away until you couldn’t hear it anymore. It was likely the last time you’d ever hear it.

Another hour of walking took you out of the village and into an area where you could hear birds and the rustling of wind through the trees. You felt Thandur shift and set the bag you were in gently on the ground. You blinked against the brightness of the daylight as he opened the neck of the back.

You were indeed in a forest, a very thick and dense one. Though it had seemed bright when you first emerged from the rucksack, it there was actually very little sunlight penetrating the canopy. Birds flitted from tree to tree, but there was an odd silence that pressed in all around you. There was something odd about this forest; you could sense it.

“Come on out,” Thandur said, offering you a hand. He took a clean rag from the pocket of his trousers and handed it to you. You used it to wipe your face. From another bag he had around his waist, he pulled a small amount of dried meat and a carrot.

“You should eat,” He said. “We have a long way to go yet. We need to reach the river before nightfall. I’m sorry for making you go through your home village, but it was the fastest way.”

“It’s alright,” You said flatly. “At least I got to hear his voice one last time.” You took the food, though you had no stomach for it. He took a fur from the pack and spread it on the ground so that you could sit.

“Where are we going?” You asked in a small voice.

“A safe place,” He said. “I’ve only been there once before on a trade run, but it’s some sort of haven for people who are in danger. There are a lot of people like you there, who have no other place to go. Even if my clan comes looking for you, you’ll be safe there. There are… protections.”

You didn’t ask what that meant. “Are you sure I’ll be welcome there?” You asked, taking a small bite of the carrot.

“Oh, yes,” He smiled. “They sort of make it a habit of taking people in. As far as I know, they’ve never turned away anyone in need.”

He crouched nearby, tearing a strip from his own dried meat and chewing on it.

“Do you think my… _husband_ is awake yet?” You asked darkly.

“You don’t have to call him that,” Thandur said.

“Don’t I?” You asked bitterly. “I am legally his wife now, aren’t I?” You shook your head in disbelief. “There has to be something I can do to get out of this union. Is there any way to appeal this marriage if the… well, the abductee is an unwilling participant?”

Thandur shook his head. “The only way to get you out of the marriage would be for another orc who wants you for their bride to challenge Kaffak in battle and kill him, and no one had ever defeated him. Ever. Besides, either way, you’d be bound to whoever won the challenge.”

“Because I’m property, is that it?”

Thandur scowled at the ground and didn’t comment.

You dropped it. “So, _do_ you think they’re looking for us yet?”

“How much poison did you give Karrak?”

“I had four belladonna plants, but they were small, so seven unripe berries and twelve leaves in total. I used them all and made a tincture, which I put into his mead. He drank most of it, but it took a strike with a hammer to get him down.”

Thandur thought. “The hammer blow wouldn’t keep him down long, but that was enough belladonna to keep him out for almost a day. He may still be unconscious.” Thandur gnawed off another piece of meat. “If people think he’s…” Thandur hesitated, cutting his eyes at you and coughing uncomfortably. “If they think he’s celebrating his wedding night, they’ll leave him alone until at least morning. Or even longer, honestly. He’s part of the old guard. More than that, he’s a mean son of a bitch and not well liked in the stronghold. None of the female orcs want him, and that’s saying something. Trust me, the women in my camp like their men _mean_.”

“So I guess that’s why he went harvesting,” You said. “Why did he pick me, though?”

Thandur sighed guiltily. “That may have been my fault. I talk about you a lot, and everyone in the compound praises your delicate metalwork. He must have gotten the idea from me.”

“Why do you talk about me?” You asked curiously.

He shrugged. “I admire you,” He said simply. “You’re the only female human I’ve met who does blacksmithing. You’re not afraid to get your hands dirty. And you’re nice to everyone.” He grimaced. “Orcs don’t put a high precedent on just being nice to others. They all think they have to be boisterous and loud and aggressive all the time. It’s irritating.”

“Is that why you’re nice?” You asked him.

He turned to you, surprised. “ _Am_ I nice?”

“You’ve always been nice to me. At least, you’ve never been loud or boisterous or aggressive when you’re around me, even when you first met me.”

“Oh.” He seemed taken aback. “Huh. I guess that explains why I’m not popular with women, either. I’m too soft.” He snorted. “Hell, by orc standards, I’m downright shy.”

In spite of yourself, you smiled. “What’s the ‘old guard’?” You asked, remembering the phrase and being unfamiliar with it.

Thandur’s expression soured. “It’s the older generation who think random harvestings and raiding villages to get what we need is acceptable. Most of the younger generations don’t condone those practices anymore, but it’s the old ones who think those traditions should still be observed. You’re the first harvesting in thirty years that was done without prior consent. Most of the younger generations, like me, think it’s barbaric and should be outlawed.”

“You’re not alone in that,” You said, frowning.

“I _know_ ,” He said, grunting unhappily. “I know how people think of orcs. That all we do is fight and raid and kill. That we’re thieves and abductors; that we take what we want and steal what we have. It’s not true. Well, it may have been true once, but it’s not anymore. We built instead of invade, we grow instead of destroy, we hunt instead of thieve. You get bad seeds in any group of people, so why are all orcs judged by what the worst of us do? We’re not bandits or rapists or raiders, not the majority of us. I’ve never even been on a real raid in my life. I’m a goddamn blacksmith, and that’s all I want to be.”

He went silent and stared off into the distance, fuming a little. You blushed a little. You must have hit a nerve.

He looked up at the sky, which was darkening. “Come on, we need to get moving. It’s a six day journey to get where we’re going, and we need to get to the river to mask our scent.”

“All right,” You said, standing and folding up the fur so that he could stow it back in the bag.

He took out a bottle and held it up. “Hold your nose,” He instructed. Just as you plugged your nostrils, he emptied the bottle against a tree. “Skunk spray. It’ll mask our scent until we can get to the river.”

Even with your nose stopped up, the spray stung your eyes. He took your hand and pulled you into a run to escape the growing cloud of stench. As you ran, he pulled an actual dead skunk from a pouch and flung it behind you, as if it had been killed by a predator. A convenient explanation for the smell. Smart.

The two of you ran at a comfortable speed for a few minutes, holding your noses, when you finally came to a tributary that led into the main river that connected most of the land.

You let your nose go, but you still smelled skunk.

“Ugh,” you remarked.

“Yeah, sorry,” Thandur said, reaching into the rucksack. “I brought soap. We can wash in the river before moving on. Here. Oh, you should also take off your shoes before you get into the water, too. It’ll prevent fungus growth between your toes.”

He laughed at you gently when you scrunched up your nose, taking off your shoes as he instructed, and he handed you a sliver of some rough brown soap. It smelled like leather, but you didn’t mind that; it was better than skunk and it reminded you of the shop.

You both scrubbed down quickly. It didn’t get rid of the smell completely, but it was bearable. It was summer and warm out, so washing in the water was a comfort. You reached down to splash water on your face and arms, then stood and was caught by the sight of Thandur.

He’d actually laid down in the stream and let the water run over his body before standing upright again, making his tunic and trousers stick to his body all over. Gods, he was well-build, and your eyes tracked his chest down to his abdomen and stomach and… farther down. You blushed and looked away. This wasn’t the moment for that.

You frowned and sighed to yourself. Maybe that moment had passed you by completely and was gone forever. Oh well. At least you weren’t spending the night with Kaffak.

If Thandur noticed your gaze, he gave no sign. “Are you ready to keep going?” He asked you.

You nodded. “Sure.”

He held out his hand and helped you to the opposite side of the stream. “Keep your feet in the water. It would be best to continue on until late. They’ll expect us to make camp early.”

Nodding again in acknowledgement, he led you forward toward the setting sun. You held his hand with one of yours and carried your shoes with the other.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thandur and the reader travel for days to find themselves at the safehouse: Declan's hidden forest farm. Once there, they share a single night together.

It was well into the night when you made camp and you were both exhausted. Though it was very dark out without any light coming through the leaves above, a fire would have been too risky, so you both decided against it. Thandur insisted on keeping watch and laid out the furs from his rucksack for you to lie on, though it was too warm for a covering.

“I know this isn’t exactly comfortable,” He said in the dark. “There’s a town nearby the river two days from here. We can stop there and resupply, and I can get you a proper bedroll.”

“This is better than where I was expecting to be staying tonight,” You replied dryly. 

He huffed in agreement. You looked at him as best you could, though you could only see the off-white of his tusks and nothing else. 

“Kaffak seems rather old to suddenly want to take a wife. Why did he wait so long? Is it just because the orc women didn’t want him or what?”

Thandur didn’t answer right away. You could hear him breathing evenly and it took several minutes before he replied, “You’re not Kaffak’s first wife.”

“I’m not?”

“No,” He said grimly. “There were four before you.”

You frowned, surprised. “ _Four?_ What happened to them?”

Again, he was a long time in answering. “His first two wives were orc women. Orc females are considered equal to orc men and have far more marital freedom that spouses from other races. They’re higher on the food chain, you might say, so they are afforded a great deal more respect than any other race. At least, they’re not treated like property, as you put it. That said, orc women are proud, so it’s difficult for them to admit when they’re being abused.”

“Kaffak abused orc women?” You asked, shocked that such a thing was even possible.

“Yes,” Thandur said. “Of course, his ex-wives would never admit such a thing. Don’t get me wrong, a lot of orc women like their men rough and rowdy, but Kaffak was something much more sinister. Both of his ex-wives petition the elders for a divorce from Kaffak less than a year into their marriages, and both were granted. Orc females, by law, are the only ones allowed to request a divorce; men aren’t even afforded that right.”

“Really? I wouldn’t have guessed that.”

“Yeah,” He replied. “Divorce among orcs is rare, though, so when a case of it comes up, there’s usually a damn good reason. One divorce for an orc is uncommon; two is unprecedented. Kaffak’s divorces are the first time I’ve ever even heard of an orc being divorced twice.”

“I see,” You said a little bitterly. “What about his other two wives?”

“They were humans, like you, but they were from the other villages,” Thandur said slowly. “Once word got around the stronghold that Kaffak mistreated his women, no other female would take up with him. That’s when he started harvesting human women.” He sighed noisily. “Neither of them lasted long.”

“What happened to them?” You asked, dreading the answer.

“This all happened when I was a small boy, you understand, so much of it is secondhand, but from what people say, his first human wife died about a year and a half after he harvested her. Miscarried and bled to death, they say. The other one…”

He was silent for a moment, and you could feel his tension ripple outward, making the summer evening feel suddenly cold.

“The official story is that she succumbed to illness, but no one is sure exactly what kind of illness, as he never permitted any physicians to tend to her and he burned her body mere hours after her death without letting anyone see it. He didn’t even send a letter to the family notifying them of her death until almost six months later.”

“That’s… suspicious,” You said in alarm.

“Very much so,” He agreed. “The stronghold council couldn’t prove he did anything to harm or kill his wives, but they decreed that he was not to take another wife for a predetermined length of time. I guess that time had come due today.”

You could hear him shuffling a little as he laid down on his side. “When I saw you over his shoulder this morning, with that awful bruise on your cheek and tears streaming down your face, I knew I had to do something. I wasn’t going to let him do to you whatever it is he did to them. I couldn’t.”

“Thank you, Thandur,” You told him, reaching around in the dark until you found his hand. “I can’t tell you how grateful I am.”

“It’s nothing,” He said. “You should rest. It’s been a terribly long day, and we have still have a ways to go yet.”

“You’re right. Goodnight, Thandur,” You said as you snuggled in. Listening to Thandur’s even breathing in the dark, you fell into an uneasy sleep.

The next morning, he woke you just before dawn, with the sky on the horizon lightening softly.

“Come,” He said, gently shaking you. “We must go.”

You groaned and stretched your arms over your head, bending your spine as you lay on your back to work the knots out of your sore shoulder muscles. You looked over and caught Thandur staring with a blush creeping up his neck. He turned away quickly and busied himself with packing up the camp, and you smiled a little.

Another two days on the river brought you to a small trading outpost, as promised. Thandur traded most of the furs he brought with him for other things, like food and a bedroll. It seems he brought the extra gear with the sole purpose of selling it on the road. You wondered if this had been some sort of amazing foresight on his part or if he was just planning to sell these things anyway and this just happened to coincide with your escape.

Either way, you were grateful for his resourcefulness. When asked, he simply said that orcs believed in being prepared for every eventuality, hence why he had been able to get himself prepared to leave the stronghold for an extended amount of time and rescue her in the span of a single morning.

You were worried about his health, though, as he hadn’t slept since before the two of you had left the stronghold, keeping watch all night as you rested. He told you his people are trained from childhood to withstand harsh conditions and that early hunting trips often involved terrible weather conditions and staying up for weeks at a time. He ruffled your hair playfully and told you not to fuss over him. You swatted his hand and he laughed.

As you were making your way toward a stand selling small things, the types of things you used to make in the shop with your father, Thandur grabbed your arm suddenly and pulled you behind a stall, peeking around cautiously.

“Shit…” You heard him breathe.

“What is it?” You whispered, your heart in your throat.

“Scouts from my stronghold,” He replied, hurriedly shoving the newly-bought items in his rucksack and handing you a few things to carry. “I recognize the clan rune. They must have mounts and be going by roads. We must travel much quicker or they’ll find us.”

“All right,” you said, nodding firmly. He took your hand and pulled you back toward the river, hidden in the trees.

Again, you ran. Once you made it to the river, you shucked your shoes back off and continued westward at a much faster pace than before.

The two of you found a cave just off the river to duck into, and he instructed you to go deep inside and wait as he made sure you weren’t followed.

Soon, he had returned. “One of the scouts saw me at the outpost,” He said, breathing hard. “I don’t know for sure if he recognized me, but he was eye-balling me.” After a moment of contemplation, he pulled a long knife from his belt, and, without hesitation, sliced off the thick, spiraling braids cascading down his back at neck level, shaking out his hair and letting it fall, curling like a honey-colored cloud around his head.

“What are you doing?!” You asked, trying to catch the ropes of hair as the fell to the cave floor.

“I’m too recognizable by my people,” He said, putting the knife back in his belt. “I have to make myself less noticeable.”

Reaching up, he took hold of the tusks that bore his clan rune and began to pull, grunting with the effort.

“Oh, gods,” You said, hiding your eyes behind your hands. There was a sharper grunt, a pop, and a relieved sigh. When you opened your eyes again, he was holding his tusk in his hand and there was a fine stream of blood dripping from his mouth.

You took the rag he had given you on the first day and mopped up his face. When you were done, he reared back his arm, ready to toss the tusk into the underbrush.

“No!” You said, catching his arm and swiping the tusk from his hand.

“Don’t worry, tusks aren’t like teeth, they grow back,” He said with a laugh.

“It’s not that,” You said. “It’s just… This is your family. Your clan. Throwing this away feels like you’re throwing your family away. You can’t do that.”

He had a strange look on his face that you couldn’t decipher, and said, “You keep it then.”

You nodded, putting the tooth and several of his shorn braids in your apron’s pocket. The rest of his beautiful locks were left on the cave floor to be nests for birds.

Another two days on the river brought you very close to wherever it was Thandur was taking you, and the two of you debated on whether or not you should bother making camp at all, or just push through the night to get there as soon as possible.

“You’re tired from trekking thought the rough terrain of the forest all day. You should rest for at least an hour.”

“Thandur, you’ve been awake for _days_. You have to be so much more exhausted than me, and you don’t even plan on sleeping, anyway. There’s no reason to stop if we’re so close. Another few hours won’t make a difference.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. We can rest when we get there. You said they’re nice people; I’m sure they’ll have a place for us to camp, at the very least.”

He laughed. “We won’t have to camp. There’s a huge farmhouse and an even larger barn to house the extended family. There will be plenty of space to lay our heads.” He sighed. “Look, one hour, alright? Just a quick nap and we’ll keep going. We can be there by dawn.”

You growled at his earnestly concerned expression and melted. “Fine. One hour. No more than that, you hear me? Don’t just decide to let me sleep.”

He held up his hands in placation. “Alright, alright,” He said, shaking out your bedroll. “Just lie down and sleep. I’ll wake you in an hour, I promise.”

You lay down in the bedroll facing him as he sat cross-legged with his back to a tree.

“I wonder what my father is doing now,” You mused softly after you’d gotten comfortable. You laughed a little self deprecatingly. “Gods,” You whispered “I remember the day before I was harvested, when you told me that someone was going to be taken. I was excited. I thought you were hinting you were going to harvest me. As thrilled as I was at the thought, I kept thinking that I just couldn’t leave my papa and hoped you’d understand. Now I’ll never see him again, so I guess it didn’t matter after all.”

Thandur was quiet for a very long time, looking off into the distance as though he hadn’t heard you. You rolled over with your back to him, and just as you were beginning to drift off, you thought you heard him ask, “What if you could still be with your father? If I had proposed harvesting, would you have said yes if leaving your Pa behind wasn’t an issue?”

Your heartbeat rocketed up in your chest, but you kept silent, pretending to be asleep. Well, whatever answer you would have given him, it hardly mattered now. When he got you to where you were going, he’d be going back to the stronghold, and you’d likely never see him again, either. You spent the next hour that you were supposed to be using for rest imagining what a life with Thandur would have been like, how good he would have been to you, and how much you wished you could have had it. You should have asked him first. Is there any reason a human couldn’t harvest an orc? That was a new thought.

Thandur got you up after an hour, as he promised, and you put away your visions of the life you couldn’t have in a box in your mind, never to be opened.

The first rays of dawn filtered through the canopy when you finally came out of the thick forest surrounding the river and stumbled on a field full of growing carrots, peas, potatoes, and other vegetables. There were also gourds and melons here and there. At the far end was rows of fruit trees, not yet ripened. Beyond the trees, you saw a massive farmhouse and an even bigger barn. You saw various creatures in the rows, pulling weeds and checking for insect damage.

You couldn’t believe what you were seeing. A farm of this size this deep in the forest? How bizarre. But before you could wonder at it too much, one of the people in the rows, a gnoll, stood and hailed Thandur.

“Welcome, friend!” The gnoll said, raising a hand in greeting. A second gnoll looked up, looking nearly identical to the first, and you figured they were likely brothers.

“Kurra!” Thandur said, raising his hand in return. “Good to see you again!”

The two gnoll boys trotted over, and the others in the fields had stopped working and were watching you and Thandur approach warily. You only saw one human among them, a woman.

You found yourself stepping behind Thandur a little, more comfortable in his shadow. The boys came up and both roughhoused with Thandur a little, which caused you to back up a little further.

“What brings you here, Thandur?” One asked, likely Kurra, the one Thandur originally greeted. “Got some trading to do?”

“Uh… no,” Thandur replied uncomfortably. He stepped aside and gently led you forward. “This is my friend. I need to speak to your mother or father rather urgently.”

The gnolls traded glances and looked at you. The bruise was likely still clearly noticeable on your face, if fading, and your general air of discomfort was apparent.

“I’ll get Ma and Pa,” The other one said. “They’re both in the house, watching Asahi and Teya.”

“Thanks, Feera,” Thandur said.

Kurra came up and put out his hand slowly, as if approaching a skittish creature, like that cervitaur you saw in the distance watching the three of you, standing in front of the human woman and pawing the ground nervously.

“I’m Kurra,” The gnoll said.

You told him your name and shook his paw. “This is quite the spread here.” You said, waving a hand at the rows of growing vegetation.

Kurra laughed a yipping, high pitched laugh. “Yeah, well, lots of mouths to feed, and there’s always more mouths to come.”

“Sorry,” You said.

Kurra shook his head. “No, please, don’t misunderstand. We expect visitors all the time, at any hour. That and, well, sometimes people come here because there’s nowhere else to go and they tend to stay. That’s the way things work here. Pa just likes to make sure anyone who comes by has a full belly, whether they stay or leave. So…” He mimicked your waving gesture, encompassing the fields.

“That’s very generous,” You said.

“Our parents are those kinds of people,” He said with a friendly smile. “Me and Feera are two such unfortunates with nowhere to go. We’ve been here since we were whelps. This is a safe place. Don’t worry.”

You hadn’t realized your shoulders were tensed until you relaxed them. Thandur laid a gentle hand on your back.

On the porch of the house far off, you saw the second gnoll, Feera, was waving you and Thandur toward the house.

“Come on,” Kurra said, turning and trotting toward the house. Thandur walked after him at a more sober pace, and you followed him, glancing at the people around you surreptitiously.

The only creatures you’d ever seen besides humans were orcs and centaurs. The others, like the large bat and the reptile and the human-dog creature with a humanoid upper body where it’s dog head would have been, were completely alien to you. You did your best not to stare, but it was hard when they were all staring at you and following you back to the house. Whenever you caught one of their eyes, they would either salute you, smile at you, or nod politely, which you tried to return, however awkwardly.

There, on the porch, was Feera standing with another human woman, though older, and another bat creature even bigger than the first one you’d seen in the field.

The large bat creature stepped forward and shook Thandur’s hand with one of his feet, which had an opposable thumb. He arms, which had huge, fleshy wings attached to them, seemed to have little practical motor function, and instead he used them to propel himself forward.

“Welcome back,” He said to Thandur, his voice was deeper than a rock canyon, but also friendly and kind. “It’s been some time. Too long, if you ask me,”

“Yes,” Thandur agreed. “Forgive me for showing up out of the blue, but I need your help.”

“I see,” Said another voice, the older woman’s. She came out from behind Declan to study you. “We can we do for you, my dear?”

“Please,” You said. “I… I need a place to stay. It doesn’t have to be forever, just until I find a new place where I can be safe.”

“You’d be safe here,” The woman said. “My name is Ryel, and this is my husband, Declan. What brings you here to us?”

“I was harvested against my will,” You explained to her.

Her head cocked to one side. “’ _Harvested?_ ’ Forgive me, but I’m unfamiliar with that term.”

“It’s when an orc from a closed community takes a wife outside of the stronghold, usually from another race,” Thandur explained.

“Normally these days, it’s agreed upon ahead of time,” You told her. “But they can take unwilling spouses, too, and there’s no law against it. The orc just grabbed me. The second he set foot in the stronghold with me over his shoulder, we were married, and I certainly didn’t agree to it.”

Ryel’s eyebrows drew in and she frowned. “Is that where that bruise came from?”

“Yes,” You replied. “The very first thing he did when he met me was hit me. He didn’t even say anything, he just slapped me across the face and knocked me to the ground. I had no hope of fighting back.”

Thandur’s lips thinned and his face was grim and guarded, but he didn’t say anything.

“Well, we have more than enough room for you here, my dear,” Declan said. “You can room with Sayo.” He nodded at the owl-harpy to your right. She looked young, possibly twelve or so, blinking her wide, gold eyes up at you curiously. “There’s already a cot up there.”

“Thank you, sir,” You said in relief. “Thank you so much.”

“What about you, Thandur?” Declan asked. “Where will you go now?”

Thandur cleared his throat uncomfortably and avoided your eye. “There’s a settlement I’ve heard of up north a ways,” He replied. “Other orcs, like me, who don’t agree with the old ways and either left or got kicked out. I might see if there’s a space for me there.”

“Wait,” You said, turning to Thandur with a frown. “You’re not going home?” 

Thandur’s grimace deepened.

“You didn’t tell her?” Kurra asked.

“I didn’t think it’d come up,” He said evasively.

“Thandur!” You said. “Why wouldn’t you go home?

“I can’t,” He said. “If I go back, I’ll be executed or exiled.”

“Because you stole another orc’s wife?” You asked, horrified.

He snorted and waved his hand dismissively. “Oh, no, that happens all the time. No, for running. Stealing you from Kaffak is acceptable, running off and not challenging Kaffak for you is the crime. Cowardice is an executable offense in most strongholds. They may not have connected the dots when I left to hunt and you disappeared at the same time, but I’ve been gone longer than I said I would, so I’m sure they’ve put two and two together by now.”

Your mouth hung open in shock. You had assumed he’d just go home. You’d never realized there would be ramifications for what he had done.

“Thandur… I’m… I’m so sorry…” You said in a solemn whisper.

He shook his head, his shortened hair curling and floating around his head, and your eye was drawn to his missing tusk, the one with his clan rune, still sitting in your apron. Gods, you were an idiot.

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for. None of this is your fault.”

“But I--”

He put his hand on your shoulder. “It’s not your fault, honey.”

“Well,” Ryel said. “Caeli is almost finished making breakfast, and you folks look beat. Why not come in and eat, and after, you two can get some rest?”

“Thank you, ma’am,” You replied, feeling a little heartsick. Thandur pressed a gentle hand to your back and led you inside.

During breakfast, which was a strange mix of raw and cooked meat, fresh fruit, and fried vegetables, you met and spoke to most of the family enough to not be nervous around them. One of the smaller ones, the three year old Asahi, sat in your lap and fed you strawberries. He shrieked with laughter whenever you snapped playfully at his fingers, and you couldn’t help noticing Thandur watching the two of you with a fond, wistful smile.

Afterward, you were taken to a room upstairs by Sayo and shown a bed. Outside the window, you saw the gnoll boys and the reptilian, Cetzu, leading Thandur to the barn for a rest himself. As if he could sense it, he stopped and turned to look up at you, smiling reassuringly, before stepping inside.

You lay down in the bed, and despite being awash in confusion and guilt, you fell asleep.

When you awoke, it was late into the night. Sayo was in her own bed, sleeping, and the farm was quiet. Having slept out your exhaustion, you were now restless and got up. Looking out the window, you saw Thandur standing with his back against the side of the barn, eating a green apple and looking out over the fields.

You slipped outside quietly and walked up to him. He smiled when he saw you and held out the apple for a bite.

You took it with a sad side smile. “I wish you had told me,” You said as you took a mouthful.

His returning smile was just as sad. “What would it have changed? I wouldn’t have left you to Kaffak, no matter the punishment. And they likely wouldn’t have killed me, just exiled me. I beat them to it, is all.”

“That’s not all, Thandur,” You said, exasperated. “Your home, your family. You’ll never see them again because of me.”

“I made the decision to leave,” He said. “I could have just set you free and left you to go back to your village and my honor with the clan would have stayed intact, but I know what would have happened if I did that.”

“What would have happened?” You asked.

“Several possibilities. Regardless of whether or not you and your father decided to stay in your village, Kaffak would have hunted you down. If the village you lived in rallied around you, it would have led to a war between your village and our stronghold. If they didn’t, Kaffak would have killed your father and dragged you back by your hair if he had to. Either way, people would be dead and you would still be married to Kaffak.”

You folded your arms and leaned against the barn next to him, contemplative.

“What if… what if you had challenged Kaffak for me?” You asked.

He had been about to take another bite, but paused. “Would you have wanted me to?” He asked. “The only way to win is for one of us to kill the other. If I lost, he’d have killed me, and if I won I’d have to kill him, and in the end, you’d be my property. Is that what you want?”

You sighed. “Well, no. But I know you’d have treated me better than Kaffak, at least.”

“I would have treated you…” He stopped short and bit his lip, as if he hadn’t meant to let that slip out.

“Yes?” You pressed, but he shook his head.

“Tomorrow morning, I’ll be leaving for the settlement. The gnolls know where it is and will help me get there safely. I’ll write a letter and send it back with them when I make it.”

Your heart sank like a stone. “Will I ever see you again?”

He looked down at you with a soft smile. “I should think so. As I understand it, the settlement is about a week away on foot, if we stop at night to rest. Less if we don’t. And you know I’ve got the stamina.” He laughed. “I imagine they might have use for a blacksmith. There’s no reason I can’t come to visit every once in a while, and I’ll send you things from time to time.”

“I’d rather have you,” You said, and slapped a hand to your mouth. Now who was the one letting things slip.

Thandur stared down at you for a long, hard minute while you avoided his eye, then he threw the core into the brush and turned so that he was right in front of you, placing his hands on either side of your head on the boards, so you were pinned against the barn. You risked looking up at him, and the expression on his face took your breath away.

He exhaled sharply and dipped down, way down, and you stood on your tiptoes so that he could kiss you, wrapping your arms tightly around his neck. He picked you up and braced you on the side of the barn so that you could wrap your legs around his waist. The kiss got hotter, heavier, and his hands which held you up caressed and kneaded the skin of your ample thighs under your skirt.

You knew you shouldn’t do this. He would be leaving in the morning for the settlement, but his home was where he should be. He had a family waiting for him. He shouldn’t have given up his entire life for you. This was the last thing he needed weighing on his mind.

But, gods, you _needed_ him right now. You had cared for him for so long, but you knew you might never see him again after tonight, and that made this tryst urgent and desperate. You knew if you didn’t take this opportunity, you’d regret it for the rest of your life. And you already had plenty of regret.

You reached down and pulled up the hem of his tunic and managed to get it over his head while he held you off the ground. You went to work on the laces of your dress as he dragged the tip of his remaining tusk up the center of your throat. You were both breathing heavily and trying to get to each others’ tender bits, but it was hard in this position.

He pulled you off the wall of the barn and walked a ways into the woods with you, laying you down in the moss. You shimmied out of your dress, laying nude in the lowlight. For a moment, he just knelt there, staring at your body and breathing hard with his bare chest heaving, before lowering his head and kissing your skin, starting at your neck and working his way down, palming your breasts. His hand found its way between your legs, drawing a single finger up your slit, making you gasp.

He opened up your legs wide and nibbled at the soft flesh of your thighs, making you writhe underneath him and whimper. His warm tongue touched itself to the pearl of your body and the muscles in your back spasmed. The single tusk poked itself into your skin again and again as he sucked and teased you, making you even more sensitive.

“Oh, gods,” You breathed, and he licked faster, pushing a finger into your body as he went, pressing and working those sweet spots, setting a fire in your belly and sending a shock through your thigh muscles. A whimpering moan issued from you over and over as you felt a rising pressure in your body. Your hips rocked back and forth as he worked, and he pressed a hand firmly to your stomach to keep you still.

You didn’t know why it had that effect, but you came instantly, and loudly. He had to put a hand over your mouth to keep you from waking everyone nearby.

“ _Thandur,_ ” You moaned under his hand. He pulled his palm away from your face, and when you opened your eyes, you saw him unbuckling his belt and freeing his legs of his pants. His member wasn’t as long as you’d expected, but he more than made up for it in girth. You reached down to stroke him and he buckled, falling down onto his arms, holding himself over you and grunting.

“Please,” He whispered, and you tilted your hips upward and led him to the wet entrance. He pushed himself inside gently but without hesitation, stretching you wide, almost but not quite painfully. All the readying he did before must have helped you take him with minimal discomfort.

When he was fully seated inside you, he lowered his body onto yours, skin to skin, the weight and heat of him on you, and he kissed you deeply as he began to move. He thrust slowly, and you wrapped your legs around his bottom, urging him to go faster. As he planted his face in your hair, inhaling the scent, you leaned up and bit his collarbone _hard_. He groaned lewdly, twitching inside you, and laughed.

“That’s how you want it, is it?” He asked, as he slammed into you once and went still. You howled, and he covered your mouth again.

He reared back up again, taking hold of your hips, and thrust hard and fast, watching as he moved in and out of you. You grabbed his wrists and held on for dear life as he pounded you, barely able to catch your breath. Every nerve in your sheath thumped with each of his thrusts, and you could feel another explosion of pleasure close to being set off.

He lay back over you and gasped, “I can’t last much longer.”

“Then don’t,” You said, clenching tight around his cock. He snapped his hips hard into you and cried out and released just after you came, and he didn’t bother muffling your screams this time, as he was almost as loud.

He collapsed on you, and though he was a little too heavy to be comfortable, you couldn’t bring yourself to push him off. You wanted him to be as close as possible as long as possible. You lay there tangled together, breathing raggedly, for some time. He rolled off after a minute, but only on his side and pulled you in tightly, kissing you more slowly, more sweetly.

You petted his hair away from his face and broke the kiss, staring at his face, memorizing it. He seemed to be doing the same while smiling softly at you, petting up and down your spine.

“What’s the matter?” He asked, drawing his thumb across your brow, which had creased with a frown.

You sighed unhappily. “You have to go home.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The reader convinces Thandur to go back home and tries to get accustomed to life at the farm. Weeks later, she comes to a realization that makes her regret her choice to send him away.

He sat up abruptly, braced on one hand. “What?”

You sat up with him. “You have to go home, Thandur,” You repeated.

“How… how can you say that?” He said, aghast. “After what just happened, after what we… how could you even suggest such a thing?”

You moved to sit in his lap and took his face in your hands. “Answer me this: Do you love your family?”

“Of course I love my family, but what does that have--”

“Doesn’t the idea of never seeing them again bother you?”

“Well, of course it does, but--”

You press your fingers to his lips. “I love my family, too. And I would love to see my father again, but I may never get the chance. _You_ still have a chance.”

“I highly doubt that. I’m sure by now, they’ve all assumed I’ve run off with you,” Thandur said, shaking his head. “They’d send me off or kill me. There’s no point in going back.”

 “Just tell them you got word I was missing while you were out hunting and you helped with the search. Tell them you found me dead.”

“They’d never buy that, love. Not without some kind of proof.”

You chewed your lip for a moment. “What if you _did_ have proof I was dead?” You asked.

He scowled. “And what exactly would that involve?”

Without hesitation, you reached up and ripped out a large chunk of your hair, a small amount of scalp ripped away with it. It stung like hell, but it would be perfect as evidence.

“What the hell are you doing?!” He demanded in horror.

Without answering, you grabbed your dress, lying on the ground with his clothes, and a knife from his belt, slashing your palm.

“ _Stop!_ ” He exclaimed, but you’d already done it and was smearing the blood all over the dress. You then slashed it raggedly, as though some predator had ripped it apart.

“Would that be enough?” You asked him.

“If I say yes, will you stop hurting yourself?” He asked, alarmed.

You looked at the bloody hair and ruined dress and shook your head. “It’s not enough…” You pulled your left foot up and set the knife against the joint of your pinkie toe.

“No!” He yelled, ripping the knife out of your hands and flinging it away. He grabbed your wrists and held you against him firmly, your arms pinned against his chest. “Stop this, please. If I agree to go back, will you stop this?”

“Yes,” You told him. “Go home to your family. Go be with the people who love you. You belong with them.”

“What about you?” He asked mournfully.

“I’m safe now,” You told him, trying very hard not to let your tears fall. That would be of no help to either of you. “I’m safe because of you. You saved my life. The least I can do is return you to yours.”

“I don’t… I don’t want to just leave you here,” He said uncertainly.

“You were going to have to leave me anyway to go to the settlement,” You pointed out. “Wasn’t that the plan all along?”

“That’s different,” He argued.

“It doesn’t matter,” You countered. “Either way, you’d have had to go. This way, you get to go home.”

“I could stay here,” He offered, if unenthusiastically. “Declan said as much.”

“ _Farming?_ Thandur, you know you’d hate that. You’d go stark raving mad in less than a week.” You held his face again. “I’m not worth throwing your entire life away, Thandur. I’m just some village blacksmith’s fat, mannish daughter. You deserve more than that. Be with your family. You belong with them.”

His face was pulled into a deeply troubled grimace. “This is really what you want?”

You nodded, not trusting yourself to speak, lest you tell him an untruth. Or worse, the actual truth.

He exhaled and bent to rest his forehead against your shoulder. “If it’s truly what you want, then I’ll go back. But I can’t guarantee they’ll believe me.”

“They will,” As much as it hurt, you pulled away and stood up. “It’ll be dawn soon, and the family will likely be up before it.”

He got to his feet as well, and you saw his hands twitching, as if fighting an impulse to embrace you. You were both still naked in the soft light of the moon. He picked up his tunic and pulled it over your head, as you no longer had anything to wear.

“Caeli lent you a dress, didn’t she? Go get dressed and bring my tunic back to me, won’t you? I want to wash it before I leave.”

You nodded, attempting a smile, and went back inside as he pulled on his trousers. You could feel his eyes on you as you walked away.

Three too-short hours later, Thandur was packed up and the gnoll twins had volunteered to travel with him to watch his back. Gnolls had similar stamina to orcs, so they wouldn’t slow him down.

He had wrapped your blooded, torn dress and hair in a wolfskin, intending to tell his clan that you’d been torn apart and partially eaten by a wolves in your mad dash to escape, and that he himself had lost his tusk in the fight with the beasts. It was a thin excuse, but you were hoping it was enough to get him back home safely. You didn’t know how he would explain his hair.

It was time to say farewell for the final time. Though it was high summer, and the sun beat down on the farm, you felt cold and shivery.

Declan and Ryel hugged their canine sons and gave them heavy packs, likely full of food.

“Ma, you shouldn’t have bothered. Me and Kurra could just hunt on the way,” Feera said.

“It’s a parent’s job to bother, son,” Declan said. “Now thank your mother.”

“Thank you, mother,” The boys said dutifully.

A pang of envy and painful reminiscence shot through you. You could remember similar small, playful arguments with your own mother, fussing over you and making sure you were eating properly, whether you needed her to or not. A job taken up by your father now that your mother was gone. He might as well be gone, too, since you’d never see him again.

You looked at Thandur, hefting a pack onto his back, and it strengthened your resolve. He had a mother, father, grandfather, two brothers, and a sister waiting at home for him. There was no sense in both of you losing everything over this. Thandur had the chance to be with his family. You weren’t going to rob him of that, regardless of how you felt. Thandur deserved more than a life in exile.

He was ready to leave, and he turned to you. “You’re sure?” He asked one last time.

You nodded. “I’ll be fine. The family doesn’t need smithing all that often, but Sayo said most of their metalwork is bought from neighboring towns. Ryel can turn a horseshoe in a pinch but not much else. I can save them quite a bit of money by doing their repairs and making tools for them when needed, and work in the fields when not needed. I’ll earn my keep.”

He held out his hand, and your laid your own in it. Pain and regret was evident on his face.

“I wish…” He started, but it seemed he couldn’t finish the sentence.

You understood, and shook your head. “Things are how they are, Thandur. Wishing for something different won’t help either of us.”

“I know,” He said. He pressed your hand to his cheek. “Still…”

You struggled for something else to say, and came up empty. You couldn’t even bring yourself to say the word _goodbye_. He kissed your palm and released your hand, walking backward slowly. The gnolls stepped down from the porch and followed.

“We’ll get him home safe, don’t you worry,” Kurra said. Feera nodded fervently in agreement.

“I appreciate that,” you told them. The three then turned and set off, disappearing in the trees within seconds.

With a heavy sigh, you turned to Ryel. “Sayo says you have an anvil and some smithing tools? I’m a decent blacksmith. I can get started making anything for the farm that you need. Are you running out of anything in particular?”

Ryel smiled and led you to a open shelter behind the barn. There was indeed an anvil and some basic tools, but they were all covered in dust and were a little rusty. You’d have to clean this place up and work with them a little before any of it would be suitable to use.

“We’re in pretty desperate need of nails. Can you make those?” Ryel asked.

You snorted, laughing at the irony. “Yes, ma’am. How many do you need?”

The next weeks were difficult. The days weren’t so bad; you filled them with work and familiarizing yourself with the people there, so time in the daylight passed quickly. It was at night, when everything was quiet, that was the hardest. All you could think of was Thandur and your father. You missed them both so badly. You cried, but silently, so as not to wake Sayo. She had an owl’s hearing, however.

“Are you sad?” She asked you one night.

“Yeah,” You admitted, sniffling. “I miss my father.”

She was silent in the darkness. “I never knew my father. I may not even have one; most harpies don’t. We’re a matriarchal people. Men aren’t allowed.”

“So how do you…” You shook your head and let the subject drop. “What about your mother?”

“My mother tried to kill me,” Sayo said matter-of-factly.

“Oh,” You said, mollified.

“I do miss my Auntie, though,” Sayo said distantly. “She wasn’t like the others in my coven. She was nice and let me stay with her when Mother went on the warpath.” You could hear her wings flutter in the dark. “You miss that man, too, don’t you? The… what is he?”

“An orc,” You replied. “And… yes… I do miss him.”

“Why?” She asked, with all the innocence of a twelve year old.

You sighed. “It’s complicated, Sayo.”

“If you say so,” the little harpy said, turning over.

The next day, you spoke to Cetzu, the lizardman, for the first time. He was huge and hulking, nearly as big as Thandur had been, with glittering black scales and silvery eyes. You were surprised to learn that he was only eighteen.

“Cetzu?” You called to him from the side of the house. He was on the porch, about to head into the house for a drink of water and looked over at you, startled.

“Oh… the new lass,” He said, his voice far less gravelly than you were expecting. “Do you need something?”

“Yes, if you don’t mind,” You said a little shyly. He may have been younger than you, but he was still intimidating. You pulled Thandur’s tusk from your pocket. “Lymera says you carve charms for her temple.”

“Yes,” He said proudly. “When Reed’s antlers drop in the winter, I carve charms from them. It makes both the farm and the temple a good amount of money.”

“I don’t have any money,” You said regretfully. “But, I was wondering if you could carve this for me?” You held out the tusk.

“Sure,” He said genially, taking it. “What would you like?”

“An anvil,” You said. “And do you think you could put in a hole at the base so I could wear it like a necklace? And preserve the rune, too?”

“That’s easy enough. Shouldn’t take more than a couple of days,” Cetzu said, turning the tusk over and examining it for cracks or splits.

“Thank you,” You said gratefully. “If you’d like me to make you something in return, just name it.”

“Oh, don’t worry about paying me back,” Cetzu said with a toothy smile. “You’re family now.”

 _Family._ “Thank you, Cetzu.”

He smiled his toothy grin at you again, and went into the house.

That evening, you took the ropes of Thandur’s hair that you had saved and separated it into bunches. After spinning it into thin, sturdy string, you ran it through a borrowed lucet to braid it into a strong, nearly unbreakable cord. It took all night to do it, but you felt a compulsion to get it done that you couldn’t explain. There was several yards of it by the time you were done, but you tied off just a couple of feet to use as the necklace for the amulet Cetzu was carving for you and coiled up the rest to be used for something later. Exactly what, you weren’t sure.

After a time, you fell into a comfortable routine. You worked the fields with the others when no smithing needed doing, and became fast friends with most of the family. There was another family, a minotaur, his wife, and their two sons, who lived close by and would visit often, and they were just as friendly and welcoming.

The only thing that marred your experience in your new home was that you and the cervitaur’s wife, Yala, seemed to get sick at the same time, some sort of stomach bug. The two of you roomed together for nearly a week out fear of spreading it to the rest of the family.

One morning, Yala woke excited and bouncing on her heels.

“You seem to be feeling better,” You said.

“Oh, gods, no, I’m still sick as a dog,” She said, grinning like a mad man and hopping around like a flea.

“So why are you so happy?” You asked, looking at her like she’d lost her mind.

Before she could answer, Sayo called up the stairs: “The twins are back!”

“Oh, _perfect_ timing,” Yala said, giggling and racing down the stairs.

You got out of your bed and went to the window, watching the gnoll twins trot toward the house across the fields. Down below in front of the house, the family was lined up, waiting to welcome them back. Yala caught her husband around the shoulders and he turned, confusion on his face. She whispered something in his ear, and his face lit up, his hooves dancing in place as he hugged her and laughed just as happily as she did.

You felt a strange dread in your stomach, watching them, but you swallowed it and your nausea down and went out to greet the boys, too.

It had been seven weeks since the boys had left, and Ryel and Declan were actually starting to worry, but they had apparently stayed on with Thandur to make sure he had no trouble with his clan. There apparently had been some kind of trial, but Thandur was cleared of any wrongdoings. They had also stopped at your father’s place to inform him of your demise. As you’d expected, he hadn’t taken it well.

“Lass,” Kurra said, pulling out an envelope. “Thandur wrote you a letter. Said I should give it to you straightaway.”

You took it and mustered up something resembling a smile for Kurra. “Thank you. For helping Thandur and having his back. That means a lot to me.”

“He’s a good sort,” Kurra replied, and went to hug one of his sisters.

You caught Yala by the arm while everyone escorted the boys inside and asked, “Why was Reed so happy?”

She laughed joyfully. “Well, I was going to wait until we were all sat down at breakfast to say it, but I supposed since you and I were laid up together, it’s okay to tell you first.”

“Tell me what?”

“I’m pregnant!”

Your entire body felt hollow and your heart dropped out of your stomach. “Pregnant?”

“Yes!” She said, hugging you. “Oh, Reed and I have been trying for a couple of months now to have a second child, but when you and I got sick at the same time, I never guessed that’s what it was!”

“That’s wonderful,” You said, trying and failing to seem excited.

She suddenly stopped bouncing around and looked at you curiously. “I wonder why…”

“I’m so happy for you!” You said, hugging her again to stop her from asking the question you didn’t want to answer. “I’m sure I’ll feel better in a few days. Don’t you worry about me. Go, tell the family!” You said, shooing her.

She nodded excitedly and headed indoors, and with what felt like lead weights in your feet, you followed.

Over breakfast, Yala and Reed made their announcement, met with great joy and celebration by the family. As much as you wanted to join them in being happy for the two, the anxiousness gnawed at you. You tried to count back to your last flow, and realized it was before you’d even been harvested. You’d been so preoccupied that you hadn’t paid attention to it.

After congratulating Reed and Yala once more, you excused yourself to your room with Thandur’s letter in hand. Your hands shook as you cracked the wax seal and opened it.

 

                          _My Love_

_I am home safe and writing this letter with the hope that it reaches you safely with our friends. I’m settling in well and all is calm here, but I must confess, I feel out of place. Though things are a little tense, I’m trying to find a way to get back into the swing of things, but truth be told, I don’t feel as if I deserve to be here._

_I try to stay busy during the day and keep my mind occupied, though at night, I can’t stop myself from thinking of you. I hope you’re still safe, are happy, and have found peace._

_I will admit this only to you, but I am a coward. I should have harvested you first. I should never have given Kaffak the opportunity. I should have contested his claim. I should have done something before it was too late. I wish so much that I had challenged Kaffak for the right to be your mate. I’d never have kept you away from your father and I should have told you that from the start. I should have just swallowed my pride and talked to you._

_Things could have been so much different. I would have been so good to you. Forgive me for my hesitance and foolishness. It was my mistake, and it is only just that I pay for it now. I just wish you weren’t paying for it, too. I’m sorry._

_Maybe in another life, I won’t be as weak, and I can give you everything I’d hoped to give you in this one. Maybe I’ll be a better man the next go round, a man that a woman like you deserves. Until then, I remain yours. Always._

_Forgive me._

_Thandur_

 

By the time your eyes read the words _better man_ , you were sobbing so hard that you could barely make out the rest of what he’d written. Clutching the letter to your heart, you bent double and wept into your knees.

You had done this. You’d made him believe that he wasn’t good enough for you, when the opposite was true. And now he was going to be a father, and he’d never know. What a wonderful father he would have been. You were the foolish one, not him. You should never have pushed him away.

“Oh, dear,” You heard from the door. You looked up and through the tears saw Yala standing in the doorway. “What’s happened?”

Wordlessly, you handed her the letter. She read it quickly, a hand over her heart, and sat next to you on the bed.

“Oh, goodness,” She whispered as she handed the letter back. “You are pregnant, aren’t you?”

You nodded. “I didn’t realize until you said it earlier.”

She tsked and put an arm around your shoulder. “You poor dear,” She said. “Are you going to tell him?”

“I can’t,” You said, taking the handkerchief she offered. “He’s back where he belongs with his family. And I can’t send a letter or go back because it’ll be dangerous for both of us. They could kill him for lying, kill me for breeding with a man other than my husband, go after my Papa just to punish me. It’s dangerous for everyone involved. And I don’t want it leading back here to trouble you and your family.”

“Oh, don’t worry about us, sweetie. We’re more than capable of defending ourselves.”

“Against an entire orc raiding party?” You asked, shocked out of your tears.

“You’d be surprised,” She said slyly. She rubbed your arm reassuringly. “Well, I can’t advise you with this. I will say that I’m happy to have a friend going through this at the same time as me. It’s nice for someone to be around who understands the misery of the first few months.”

“Oh, don’t say that,” You said, hiding your face in your hands.

Yala laughed. “Don’t worry, honey. It’ll all be alright. We’ll look after you. You’re our family now.”

The tears flowed anew and you hugged Yala. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin your day.”

“Oh, don’t worry, love,” She said, rubbing your back soothingly. “You’re not ruining anything. Babies, even the surprise ones, are always welcome here. Mama and Papa will be happy, I know for sure.”

As you parted, you said to her, “I kind of don’t want a big fuss about this, you know?”

“Of course,” Yala said. “I completely understand, and I'll make sure everyone understands that, too.”

Yala called up her mother and the other women of age in the house and the six of you talked it through, with you crying through most of it. The news had rippled outward, and it seemed everyone knew by the end of the day. Thankfully, no one, not even the younger children, asked intrusive or awkward questions, or even offered their congratulations. They simply acted as support, gently reminding you to eat and drink and to take breaks.

Declan was the biggest help of all. He seemed to have an innate sense for when you or Yala were sick, or hungry, or tired, and showed up with exactly what you needed at the time. Ryel smiled when you told her about it, and said he’d always been that way. He was empathic to a scary degree.

The months passed, and harvest came due. You worked pulling in fruit and vegetables from the fields, just like everyone else. Yala had made you a cloak to wear as the weather began to get colder, and you made her a bassinet for her new arrival.

Autumn turned to winter, and now most tasks were indoor ones, with the exception of your metalworking. You were grateful that they didn’t insist you stop doing that, though once your belly began to poke out, you thought you might put off blacksmithing until after the baby was born.

The anvil charm Cetzu made rested on the very top of your belly, smooth as a river stone and and perfectly carved, and it bounced against your stomach as you walked. You felt like it was almost a talisman, keeping the baby strong and safe, a relic of their father they could keep with them when they grew up. It was no replacement for their actual father, but it was the best you could offer.

Your chubby stomach had hidden the growth of the baby, but now six months on, it looked like you’d swallowed a melon. Yala was built similarly to you, but her bump was still barely noticeable. It must have been the difference in fathers. Reed was a slight, flighty thing, as was his wild and bouncy daughter, Teya. You were terrified to learn what being nine months pregnant with an orc’s baby would look like.

One day, as the year began to turn, Kurra met you in at the forge with a wide, wolfish grin on his face. He had gone away with Feera and Lymera for a couple of weeks to sell some of the produce and must have just returned that morning.

“Welcome back,” you said, hugging him around the neck. He hugged you back gingerly, then held you at arms length.

“Whoa, there, sis! Making triplets in there?”

“Oh, gods, don’t even joke about that!” You said, slapping his arm. “Sales good?”

“Pretty good,” He said, his grin wide. “Brought you something.”

“Oh?” You said, surprised.

“Well, more like _someone_ ,” He said, leaning against the anvil.

Your heart stopped. _Thandur?_ You dropped your hammer and ran out around the barn and looked at the man on the front porch of the house.

 _Oh._ Your heart fell. It wasn’t Thandur. It was a human man standing with his back to you, tall and broad, with short greying hair and weathered skin. His hands were coarse and darkened from ash, the hands of a blacksmith. It was…

“ _Papa!_ ” You said in a strangled cry, and he whipped around, his face full of naked hope and relief.

“Oh, gods!” He said, launching himself off the porch and into your open arms. “My girl! My poor, beautiful girl! You’re alive! You're truly alive!” He hugged you tightly, rocking you back and forth. “I’ve missed you so much, my baby girl!”

“ _Papa,_ ” You cried into his vest. “I missed you. I missed you. I love you so much.”

He drew back and held your face, studying it with tears in his eyes. “I was told you had died. I thought… oh gods… I thought I had lost you.”

“I’m sorry,” You said. “I didn’t want to put you in danger. Do you know what happened?”

“An orc stole you away. Some nonsense about a marriage.” He scowled fiercely. “They said you escaped and gotten yourself killed. I… gods…” It was only then did he look down and see your stomach. “Oh gods…” He looked up at you in horror. “You’re… it’s not that monster’s, is it?”

“Oh, no, Papa," You assured him. "I got out before he had the chance. No… no, it’s… it’s Thandur’s.”

Your father narrowed his eyes. “I don’t know if I like that better…”

You laughed through your tears. “It was… just something that happened…”

He held his hands to ears. “Ah! I don’t want details.”

You laughed and hugged him again. When he pulled back, his eyes fell on the anvil made of Thandur’s tusk and he picked it up, examining it, seeing the rune, though he let it drop back to your breastplate without comment.

You took him inside to introduce him to the family, who he greeted warmly and thanked profusely for giving you shelter. Declan and Ryel told him that you’d been a joy to have around and they appreciated the work you had done for them. Declan immediately offered your father a bed to rest in, which he gratefully accepted.

Your father reemerged for dinner, and as you were all sat around the table, he told you he had moved to a new village, unable to face living in a house that did nothing but remind him of the family he’d lost. He told you he was building a new house there in the new village, and it was outside of the clan’s territory, so even if they found out you were still alive, they had no claim there and couldn’t legally take you from it. The villagers had even pledged to support him should the clan come looking to cause trouble.

“It’s a few days away on horseback,” Your father told you. “I brought along a couple of horses for the journey. They’re loans, but I can return them when we return to the village.”

“It sounds lovely, Papa,” You said, smiling. You looked around the table at all the faces you’d come to love, the people who had been calling you family since the day you arrived. “I’ll be so sad to leave all of you. I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done for me.”

Ryel chuckled. “Just send us nails, and we’ll call it even. Besides, like your father said, it’s only a few days away. You can visit us or we can visit you whenever we like, right?”

You brightened. “Of course! I’m already looking forward to it.”

You and your father spent another night at the farm, and the next morning, the family loaded you and your father down with fresh food for the road.

You hugged Yala. “Thank you for helping me through this,” You said, gesturing at your belly.

“Think nothing of it, love. We’ll have to meet again after the little ones are born.”

“I’d love that,” You told her, beaming.

You hugged each member of the family, squishing Sayo and Asahi especially tight, and with your father’s help, mounted the horse. They all continued to wave as you trotted away with wishes that you visit soon and often. Little Asahi cried after you as you left, his tail down and twitching anxiously, which broke your heart a little. He’d been your little helper the whole time you were there. You were going to miss the fluffy thing.

You spent the next two days on the road catching up with your father, telling him everything, from being taken that early morning, to the poisoning of your new husband, the frantic flight from the stronghold with Thandur, to life at the farm, How you had been teaching the family things while they taught you things in return and how they had taken you in with no question or expectation of reimbursement.

Your father told his own story from the time you’d been gone: miserable and wasting away, finding comfort in drink and nothing else. Finally realizing he had to leave, because it was too painful to stay. Turns out that the the gnolls had come to sell food, the same gnolls which he had seen in the village after Thandur had returned and had given him the news of your death. They took pity on him and told him you were still alive, and he insisted that he come to the farm himself to see.

“Finding you alive caused my broken heart to beat again,” He told you. “I’m so happy to see you again, my dear.”

You reached for his hand, and it was a little awkward on shifting horseback, but he took it and squeezed.

Soon enough, the road opened up and led into a bustling town. Immediately, you notice that many of the villagers were orcs, though other races were mingling among them as well, including other humans. They all smiled at your father, the humans and non-humans alike, and he nodded at each of them in turn. This certainly surprised you.

“They seem to like you,” You said, impressed.

He grinned. “I’ve been here a while. The house isn’t finished yet, by the way. Which is a good thing, I guess, since we’re going to have to built a nursery.” He sighed. “But, it’s just been the two of us, so we can only get so much done, you know?”

“Two of you?” You asked.

He smirked and said nothing else.

You rounded a bend, and a sweet little white-washed cottage stood at the end of the road. It was a decent size, big enough for a handful of people to live comfortably, though some of the supporting beams were still exposed on the farthest corner of the right wall, covered with a large waxed cloth to keep out the elements. There were boards there on the ground that were meant to complete the wall, as well as clay and stone to built up the strength of the base.

There, hanging from the roof as he worked on the unfinished side, hammering the boards in place from above, was the only other man who had occupied your thoughts for the last six months. Even in the cold, his shirt was off as he worked diligently, showing off his muscles, his creamy moss colored skin, and the cloud of honey colored hair, now a bit longer since you last saw him, tied back out of his face as he worked. His tusk, the one he’d ripped out, was growing back, but was still only half the size of the other.

“ _Papa,_ it’s…” You breathed, tears falling down your face. You looked at him and he smiled fit to crack his face. He dismounted and helped you down off of your own horse. He gave you a squeeze and pushed you forward while he took the borrowed horses back to their owner.

You walked toward the house and stared up at Thandur as he continued to hammer nails into the boards with single minded focus. You were scared to speak, for fear that this was an illusion that would break if you spoke or moved.

“...Tha…Thandur…” You called weakly.

His head popped up immediately and his face broke into the biggest smile you’d ever seen.

“You’re here!” He exclaimed, standing upright and stepping off the roof. He landed on the ground with a huge thud, and you felt the ground shudder. He raced toward you with the hammer in his hand, but he suddenly caught sight of your belly and stopped short, the hammer slipping from his grip. He was slack-jawed in shock, his eyes wide and his mouth agape.

“Oh… oh, gods,” He said, moving toward you slowly, his eyes never leaving the bulge of your stomach. “Oh, gods, sweetheart… You’re… Is it…”

“Yours?” You asked with a small laugh. “Of course it is, you idiot.”

He fell to his knees in front of you, touching your belly tenderly and pressing his forehead against it.

“You lied to me,” You accused, laughing as you cried. “You all lied to me. You, Papa, the twins. I can’t believe the lot of you.”

He stood, his hands touching your face. “Forgive me, my love. But you were so adamant about me going home. That’s never what I wanted. This took time to set up, so I used my going back as a cover, but I never intended to return to my old life. My life is with you. It has been since the day we met.” He pulled you into his arms and he kissed your face over and over.

“I asked the gnolls to bring me here first, where I explained my circumstance to the town. They welcomed me and gave me permission to built a house. After that, we went back to your village. The gnolls delivered the wolfskin with your dress to the clan and explained they found you dead, while I went to collect your father. I told him the truth of what happened.”

“You did? Why didn’t he come for me?”

Thandur took your hand and led you slowly toward the house. “He wanted to see you immediately, but I was worried that the clan was watching him, in case you returned. I convinced him to come here first and help me build the house. It would give us enough time for the clan to give up. I’d hoped to have the house finished before we came to get you, but when the gnolls came, they told me how you were, that you were unhappy, and your father and I were so eager to see you that he went and got you. It was his decision to keep me a secret." He placed his hand on your stomach, rubbing it and chuckled anxiously. “The boys certainly didn’t mention _this._ ”

His hand found the amulet and he stopped for a moment to examine it with a smile. He kissed your cheek and put an arm around your shoulder.

“What about your clan? What do they think happened to you?” You asked as you both started walking again.

“The gnolls told them they found me dead, too, surrounded by twenty wolves, although they delivered a letter to my family that told them the truth. The boys said my family weren’t happy with me, but they understood. They’ll keep my secret, as long as they can.”

“If I weren’t so happy, I’d be furious with all of you,” You said.

He grinned widely and held open the door for you. Inside of the house was so beautiful. There were wide windows and the walls were white-washed, like the outside. There was a spacious kitchen area that connected to the sitting area, as well as two bedrooms on opposite sides of the house, one of which was the unfinished side. It was so bright and open and warm, even in the winter.

“I love it, Thandur,” You said. “It’s beautiful.”

“It’s for you,” He said gently, coming up behind you and putting his hands on your belly. “I guess it’s good it’s not finished yet. The baby needs a room, don’t they?”

“Yeah.”

You could feel him laugh into your hair. “Your dad went to take the horses back to his friend. He’ll be gone a while. Would you like to see what the master bedroom looks like?”

You grinned sinfully. “Yeah.”

The house and the nursery was finished by the time Thandur’s little girl was born, though she was never in her own room for long. She was a little early, but she was a strong, cranky thing that growled instead of cried, which Thandur assured you was normal for orcs. Your father was terrified during the birth, which was arduous for you, but Thandur and the village midwife helped you through it. Ryel even made the journey to be there for the birth.

She had Thandur’s moss green skin and speckled brown eyes, but your hair and facial features. You named her Trillia, after your mother.

She was so tiny that she fit in the palm of Thandur’s hand, but he was so careful with her and spent much of the day holding, playing, and cuddling her. You father also doted and coddled her. In fact, if you weren't needed to breastfeed the child, you might never get the chance to hold her.

One evening in spring, Thandur sat in a large armchair with her, talking to her quietly, as you made dinner. You could hear your father banging away at the forge behind the house. Having a family of blacksmiths had been a boon for the community, as they hadn’t had a single one at all before the three of you came.

You turned for a moment to admire the sight of your mate and child together when you saw Thandur looking off into the distance, frowning a little.

“What’s the matter, love?” You asked him, wiping your hands and going to sit on his knee.

He sighed. “I can’t marry you,” He said unhappily, resting his hand on your back and rubbing gently. “Even though we’re outside of my clan’s territory, and even though they think you dead, you’re still legally married to Kaffak. I can’t be your husband unless I challenge Kaffak or wait until he dies, and knowing him, he’s got another 20 years of spite left to live out.” Thandur’s voice was bitter.

You lay across him and put your head into his shoulder, placing your hand over his, the one that held Trillia secure to his chest.

“We don’t need to be married to love each other, Thandur,” You told him. “You don’t need to be my husband to make me happy. We’re a family, regardless of what the law says. That’s plenty for me.” You looked up and kissed his lips softly. “And there may be a day when we can be husband and wife, but we don’t need that to be happy. All we need is to be together.”

He smiled softly at you. “You’re right. How unusual.”

You smacked him and he laughed, bouncing the baby a little. She giggled vaguely in her sleep before settling again.

“Are you happy?” He asked as you went back to tending dinner.

“Of course,” You told him. “Aren’t you?”

“Immensely,” He replied, standing and following you so he could nuzzle your neck.

“Do you miss your family?” You asked a little regretfully.

“My family is here,” He said. “Do I miss the clan? Yes. But if I had to choose, I’d choose you a thousand times.”

You turned and he kissed you deeply. “Me too,” You replied. “Now,” You said, pulling the baby from his arms. He whined disappointedly. “Can you call Grandfather in? Dinner is ready.”


End file.
